1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for determining surroundings of a motor vehicle, and particularly relates to a classification of the surroundings based on locally sampled information.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plurality of support systems for the driver may be installed on board a motor vehicle, which systems are referred to as assistance systems. Such a system may include, for example, a lane assistant (lane departure warning system) which issues a warning when the motor vehicle is about to leave a marked lane on a road. A further assistance system may include a parking assist system which provides steering or driving instructions for a parking process.
For such assistance systems to function, it is advantageous to know in what surroundings or on what type of road the motor vehicle is presently situated. For example, if the lane assistant has the information available that the motor vehicle is on a freeway, certain functions may be adapted thereto and parameterized. Visual references to a traffic lane may thus be evaluated in a more targeted manner, for example.
Known assistance systems determine a position of the motor vehicle and infer the surroundings based on map data at the particular position. However, not every motor vehicle is equipped with a navigation system or a map database, and moreover the map database may be outdated and thus result in misinformation. Another approach provides for determining the surroundings at least approximately based on the present speed of the motor vehicle. For example, starting at a driving speed of approximately 130 km/h, it may be assumed that the motor vehicle is situated on a freeway. However, such a determination is prone to errors and may even work against the functional capability of the assistance systems at some points.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a method, a computer program product, and a device for the improved classification of the surroundings of a motor vehicle.